US Special Operations Behind Federal Military Drills In Florida, Across the Country

The Enemy of My Enemy

The forces that do not want a U.S. nuclear deal with Iran, nor any U.S. detente with Iran, are impressive.Among them are the Israelis and their powerful lobby AIPAC, the Saudis and their Sunni allies on the Persian Gulf, a near unanimity of Republicans and a plurality of Democrats in Congress.Is there a case to be made for a truce in the venomous conflict that has gone on between us since the taking of U.S. hostages in 1979? Is there any common ground?To both questions, President Obama and John Kerry believe the answer is yes. And they are not without an argument.First, the alternative to a truce — breaking off of negotiations, doubling down on demands Iran dismantle all nuclear facilities, tougher sanctions — inevitably leads to war. And we all know it.Yet Americans do not want another war in the Middle East, with a nation three times the size of Iraq, and its allies across the region.Nor can Iran want such a war. Had the ayatollahs and mullahs wanted it, they could have had a war with the United States at any time in the third of a century since they seized power.Yet as Ronald Reagan was taking the oath in 1981, our hostages were suddenly on their way home. With the accidental shoot-down of an Iranian Airbus by the cruiser Vincennes in 1988, the Ayatollah ended his war with Saddam Hussein, fearful the Americans were about to intervene on the side of Iraq.Why Iran wants to avoid war is obvious. Given U.S. air, missile and naval power, and cyberwarfare capabilities, a war with the United States would do to Iran what we did to Iraq, smash it up, set it back decades, perhaps break up the country.Read the entire article

Espionage, Treason, and the Congressional Fifth Column

The spectacle of virtually the entire Senate GOP caucus mobilizing in support of a foreign power in order to drag us into war with Iran has certainly been instructive. Not since the Federalist party plotted with the British during the War of 1812 has an American fifth column been so open about their treason.But isn’t the "t"-word a bit hyperbolic? After all, don’t all Americans, even the worst warmongers among us, have the right to free speech? Those members of Congress were merely expressing their opinion – right?Not so fast:"Soon after the U.S. and other major powers entered negotiations last year to curtail Iran’s nuclear program, senior White House officials learned Israel was spying on the closed-door talks."The spying operation was part of a broader campaign by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to penetrate the negotiations and then help build a case against the emerging terms of the deal, current and former U.S. officials said. In addition to eavesdropping, Israel acquired information from confidential U.S. briefings, informants and diplomatic contacts in Europe, the officials said."The espionage didn’t upset the White House as much as Israel’s sharing of inside information with U.S. lawmakers and others to drain support from a high-stakes deal intended to limit Iran’s nuclear program, current and former officials said."Read the entire article

US House urges Obama to send lethal weapons to Ukraine

Obama Stands Up for America

From the perspective of a noninterventionist, President Obama’s foreign policy has been a disaster. Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Iraq, and now the stalled withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan – all this and more is evidence that the candidate who campaigned against the reckless policies of his predecessor has turned out to be worse, in many ways, than George W. Bush. However, in one area his recent actions have made us proud, and that is in his dealings with the rogue state of Israel.Not that he started out that way. When Joe Biden went to Israel and was ambushed by his ungracious hosts – who took the opportunity to announce a new round of "settlement" building – there were no consequences for Tel Aviv. When the IDF attacked Gaza in alleged retaliation for a rogue attack on Israeli schoolboys, the President stood by while Israel rained death on Palestinian children – the main victims of the war – and again there were no consequences. And don’t forget the competition between candidate Obama and Mitt Romney over who could kowtow to Bibi Netanyahu more obsequiously: all in all a most unedifying spectacle.Yet any President of these United States, no matter from which party, is bound to at least appear to be advancing American interests throughout the world, whether not these clash with Israel’s foreign policy agenda. And since – contrary to the Israel First crowd – the US and Israel are separate countries, with different interests, this clash is bound to occur no matter how close the "special relationship" may appear to be. Furthermore, it is simply a fact of geopolitical reality that, ever since the 9/11 attacks, the clash of interests has become more apparent, and divisive, in spite of the initial solidarity that developed between Washington and Tel Aviv. The United States, faced with an assault by radical Sunnis intent on fighting a worldwide jihad against our interests, had to find Arab/Muslim allies in order to dispute Osama bin Laden’s claim to represent all Muslims everywhere. In short, it was necessary to split the Muslim world and drain the pool of potential recruits to Al Qaeda.Read the entire article

Military Takeover Plan Revealed: Is Your State Next

The ISIS Described by the US Media as a “Sunni Muslim Militia” is “Made in America”. It has Nothing to Do with Sunni Islam

Here are six (6) reasons why the entire ISIS war outfit cannot not be considered a ‘Sunni movement” and should never be called “Sunni” militia, and therefore Western mainstream media should not and must not commit Islamophobic name-calling, and must therefore stop referring to ISIS as “Sunni” militia:

1.) ISIS destroyed many holy shrines of Sunni Muslims in Iraq and Syria, including the shrine and mosque of the Prophet Yunus (Jonah) of Ninawa (Nineveh), Iraq and the shrine of Prophet Ayyub (Job) in Oz, Mosul, Iraq; to mention a few. They destroyed holy graves of Sufi-Sunni Muslim saints in and around Mosul and Kirkuk in Iraq and in Damascus, Aleppo and Kobane in Syria.

2.) The Holy Quran declares that Muslims are forbidden to destroy places of worship of all religions; and particularly, the shrines of the Ahl-ul-Kitab (literally, “People with Sacred Scriptures”) i.e., Jews and Christians must be held inviolable and must even be secured by Muslims (Al-Qur-an 22:40-41), and yet ISIS barbarically destroyed Christian churches. Also, Islam in the Holy Quran solemnly declares that there should be no compulsion in religion (Al-Qur’an 2:256), and yet this ISIS militia are forcing Yezidis and Christians to convert or else face death. This is very strange: there is no news that records that Jews were forcibly converted by ISIS and synagogues around Mosul, Aleppo, Kirkuk and in cities of North Iraq were never destroyed by ISIS, even though there are resident Jews and there are a number of synagogues in these areas. This is a strange thing indeed! (See, The Majlis: Council of Ulama in South Africa; p. 8.)

3.) The Shariah Islamiyyah (Divine Law) of classical Sunni Islam are found in the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Qur’an clearly says that civilians and non-combatants’ lives are inviolable: (Al-Qur’an2:256, 5:69). As of this juncture, to quote from the Holy Qur’an is in order: “Allah forbids you to fight those who did not oppress you, nor threw you out of your homes, you ought to show compassion on them and manifest justice upon them. Verily Allah loves those who are just” (60:8). The killing of innocent non-combatants is forbidden in all Sunni rulings concerning defensive warfare. Sayyidina Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, the first Caliph of Sunni Islam penned this ruling to the armies of the Caliphate: “I instruct you in ten matters: Do not kill women, children, the old, or the infirm; do not cut down fruit-bearing trees; do not destroy any town and do not touch those who do not bear arms, do not kill those who surrender and take refuge in the designated places of refuge, all who surrender to you must be safe in your care.” (See Imam Malik’s Muwatta’, “Kitab al-Fatawah-ul-Jihad-e-Abu Bakr Siddiq” [The Book of Abu Bakr Siddiq on the Proper Conduct of Warfare], pp. 37-39.).

4.) As far as my research goes, there are no Sunni scholars (ulama) and legitimate Sunni muftis and fuqaha (Islamic jurists and doctors of Islamic law) among the so-called ISIS Caliphate to clearly establish legitimate fatwas (Shariah rulings) on the legitimacy of their jihad from the Sunni Islamic perspective. There is not even an ustadh (Islamic scholar) of eminence among their ranks! The truth is that eminent Sunni scholars of Iraq and Syria have denounced ISIS for killing over 300 Sunni imams: which effectively belied the ISIS claim that it represents itself as the protector of Sunnis in Iraq and Syria. Many Sunni clerics in Iraq and the Levant declare ISIS combatants as “outside the bounds of Islam and are therefore excommunicated from the Islamic faith” because of their brutality inflicted on non-Muslims and on Sunni Muslims

5.) Using the classical rulings of Sunni Islam on governance as basis of legitimacy, the so-called ISIS Caliphate is illegitimate. Genuine and bonafide Sunni Caliphate is established by the expressed consensus and consent (al-mushshuw’ara al jamaah) of the whole Islamic community by explicit public allegiance (bay-ah) of the whole body of Muslims. ISIS has unilaterally declared their so-called caliph, Al-Baghdadi as Khalifah-ul-Muslimin” (Caliph of all Muslims) clandestinely and covertly, in which the whole Muslim Ummah did not participate in his election, nor choose him to be its caliph, nor give him pledge of allegiance!

6.) ISIS was only able to successfully recruit combatants from Europe to wage war in Iraq and the Levant, but it failed to enlist the grassroot support of Iraqi and Levantine Sunnis. Furthermore, it failed to enlist allegiance of the Sunni Arab and Kurdish clergies who strongly denounced ISIS as outside the pale of the Islamic faith.

Saudi Arabia Warns Iran Deal Would Trigger Arms Race

Will the GOP Kick It Away?

With Hillary Clinton scrambling to explain her missing emails, much of America is wailing, “Please don’t make us watch this movie again!”Why, then, would the Republican Party, with a chance to sweep it all in 2016, want to return us to the nightmare days of George W., which caused America to rise up and throw the party out in 2006 and 2008?Do Republicans really believe that America wants a return to the Cold War with Moscow and new and larger hot wars in the Middle East?With President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry seemingly about to conclude a deal to freeze Iran’s nuclear program, House Speaker John Boehner invited Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to use the State of the Union podium to call Obama and Kerry naive and trash their deal as paving the ayatollah’s way to an atomic bomb.For the U.S. House to invite a foreign leader to come into its chambers and see that leader, on national television, mocking U.S. foreign policy to wild cheering was something few of us expected to see in our lifetimes.Came then the astonishing letter drafted by Tom Cotton, a 2-month-old senator who makes Ted Cruz look like Ramsey Clark, that was signed by 47 Republicans. Sent to the ayatollah and mullahs, the Cotton letter instructed Iran that any deal signed by Kerry might not be worth the paper it was written on.Read the entire article

His quoted statement went on to blame Ukraine’s problems on Russia: “The country [Ukraine] is billions of dollars in debt, having been a corrupt and demoralized nation that has no gas in storage and no dollars to buy it. … [Russia] destroyed 20% of Ukraine’s economy, bombed the mines in the fighting, and produced a million displaced persons, who, as a result are forced to leave their homes.” [NOTE: Those bombs, some of which were firebombs, actually fell from Ukrainian Air Force planes, and were supplemented by Ukrainian Army missiles. The resident forces in the rebel area of the southeast that the Ukrainian Government is fighting against had no air force at all until recently, and very little even now. And, of course, any “rearming” of Russia is being done by Russia, not by “Hostile countries over the past decade.”]

The next day, March 13th, the same Ukrainian ‘news’ source headlined “Militants in the Donbass Are Professional Soldiers Led by the Army of the Russian Federation,” and ‘reported’ that, “Military units of illegal armed groups ‘DNR’ and ‘LC’ are formed on the organizational structure of Russian military units, and the main staff and command positions are appointed by the Russian officers. This was announced during a briefing for foreign journalists on the situation in the Donbas by Deputy Chief of Staff, Colonel Valentin Fedichev of the ATO [Anti Terrorist Operation].” [NOTE: On 29 January 2015, the Chief of Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said that, at least as of that moment in time, there were no Russian troops fighting against the Ukrainian Government’s forces, but only a few individual volunteers from Russia. There are likewise individual volunteers from several countries who are fighting for the Ukrainian Government. In addition, there are military advisors in the war from the U.S. and from Russia.]

“Russian aggression in Ukraine is an attack on world order and order in Europe. All of us still clearly remember the Soviet invasion of Ukraine and Germany. That has to be avoided. And nobody has the right to rewrite the results of the Second World War. And that is exactly what Russia’s President Putin is trying to do.”

The History Of Hillary's Crimes

Shutting Down AIPAC

I would like to concentrate on two issues. First is the nature of the special relationship between Israel and the United States and second is the role of the Israel Lobby and most particularly AIPAC in shaping that relationship. I was a foreign policy adviser for Ron Paul in 2008 and consider myself politically conservative. I respect the fact that nations must be responsive to their interests, but because of my personal experience of living and working overseas for many years I have come to recognize that the United States is an anomaly in that it persists in going around the world doing things that just do not make any sense. This has been particularly true during the past fourteen years, with invasions, interventions and targeted assassinations having become the preferred form of international discourse for Washington.Many would agree with what I have just observed, but few recognize the role of the special relationship with Israel in shaping what the United States has become. Quite frankly, the relationship is both lopsided in terms of favoring perceived Israeli interests as well as being terrible for the long suffering Palestinians, very bad for the United States as it damages the American brand worldwide and even bad for Israel as it enables its governments to act in ways that are ill advised and ultimately self-defeating.I would first like to address the often repeated mantra that Israel is America’s best friend or closest ally as it is a bedrock issue that is frequently trotted out to excuse behavior that would otherwise be incomprehensible. Apart from being a recipient of more than $3 billion per year from the US taxpayer, Israel is no ally and never has been. There is no alliance of any kind with Israel, in part because Israel has a border that has been moving eastward for the past fifty years as it continues to absorb Palestinian land. Without an internationally recognized border it is impossible to define a relationship between two nations. Israel also has no strategic value to the United States, so to speak of an alliance, which posits reciprocity is ridiculous.But that is not to say that Israel does not interact with Washington. Indeed, some might say that it is possesses a disproportionate voice relating to some foreign and domestic policies. The penchant to use force as a first option in international interactions is perhaps itself due to Washington imitating Tel Aviv or vice versa as neither the United States nor Israel seems any longer interested in diplomacy.American protection of Israel in international bodies like the United Nations is a disgrace, making the United States de facto complicit in Israeli violations of international law, to include its settlement expansion, as well as its war crimes. Under Bill Clinton the United States more or less adopted the Israeli model in dealing with terrorism, which consists of overwhelming armed response and no negotiations ever. Washington’s uncritical support for Israel politically and militarily was a major factor in motivating the perpetrators of the 9/11 terror attack.Read the entire article

Obama Craven Puppet of Racist Israel

The Relationship between Washington and ISIS: The Evidence

Reports that US and British aircraft carrying arms to ISIS have been shot down by Iraqi forces have been met with shock and denial in western countries. Few in the Middle East doubt that Washington is playing a ‘double game’ with its proxy armies in Syria, but some key myths remain important amongst the significantly more ignorant western audiences.

A central myth is that Washington now arms ‘moderate Syrian rebels’, to both overthrow the Syrian Government and supposedly defeat the ‘extremist rebels’. This claim became more important in 2014, when the rationale of US aggression against Syria shifted from ‘humanitarian intervention’ to a renewal of Bush’s ‘war on terror’.A distinct controversy is whether the al Qaeda styled groups (especially Jabhat al Nusra and ISIS) have been generated as a sort of organic reaction to the repeated US interventions, or whether they are actually paid agents of Washington.Certainly, prominent ISIS leaders were held in US prisons. ISIS leader, Ibrahim al-Badri (aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi) is said to have been held for between one and two years at Camp Bucca in Iraq. In 2006, as al-Baghdadi and others were released, the Bush administration announced its plan for a ‘New Middle East’, a plan which would employ sectarian violence as part of a process of ‘creative destruction’ in the region.

According to Seymour Hersh’s 2007 article, ‘The Redirection’, the US would make use of ‘moderate Sunni states’, not least the Saudis, to ‘contain’ the Shia gains in Iraq brought about by the 2003 US invasion. These ‘moderate Sunni’ forces would carry out clandestine operations to weaken Iran and Hezbollah, key enemies of Israel. This brought the Saudis and Israel closer, as both fear Iran.

Mr. Burns Declares WAR!

10 Reasons to Pray for AIPAC’s Decline

AIPAC’s support of the Israeli prime minister over the US president is turning AIPAC into a Republican-biased lobby that could hopefully prove fatal to its future influence in Washington. Here are ten reasons why this would be good for world peace:1. AIPAC wants to sabotage nuclear talks with Iran. AIPAC – like the Israeli government –has no faith in the complex negotiations under way between Iran and the US (along with its five partners) to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. It pushes for greater sanctions on Iran knowing that—as Secretary of State John Kerry has said—additional sanctions would threaten the diplomatic path. AIPAC, which has successfully lobbied the US government to adopt crippling economic sanctions on Iran in the past, is ignoring White House warnings and its lobby day this year will push for the Kirk-Menendez sanctions bill, a bill the President has vowed to veto. If the nuclear talks fail, the violence that has engulfed the Middle East will only get worse and will put the US on a dangerous path to more war.2. AIPAC promotes Israeli settlements in direct opposition to international law. As of this past year, approximately 350,000 Israelis are recorded as living in illegal Israeli settlements, a record high. Despite the fact that United Nations Human Rights Council requested the removal of all of the West Bank’s settlers and cessation of all settlement activities without preconditions, settlement construction has increased by 40% under Prime Minister Netanyahu. Israeli settlements violate the Geneva Conventions and can be prosecuted within the International Criminal Court as “gross violations of human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law.” No wonder AIPAC doesn’t wait Palestine to become a member of the ICC…3. AIPAC supports the horrific Israeli invasions and siege of Gaza. Claiming Israel was forced to defend itself against Hamas, AIPAC supported the Israeli offensive during the summer of 2014 called “Operation Protective Edge.” The attack resulted in thousands of deaths (including over 500 children), 6 UN schools and hospitals flattened, 18,000 housing units destroyed, 108,000 people displaced from their homes. Robert Cohen, the president of AIPAC, justified the Israeli offensive in a meeting with Congress on July 23rd. AIPAC also supported the prior two invasions of Gaza and the siege that has left the 1.8 million residents of Gaza living lives of intense poverty and misery.4. AIPAC’s call for unconditional support for the Israeli government threatens our national security. The United States’ one-sided support of Israel, demanded by AIPAC, has significantly increased anti-American sentiment throughout the Middle East, sowing the seeds of more possible terrorist attacks against us. Now disgraced Gen. David Petraeus admitted that the US-Palestine conflict “foments anti-American sentiment, due to a perception of US favoritism for Israel.” Iran, for example, could be a vital ally for the US in the Middle East in the fight to control ISIL. But because of Israel’s hatred toward Iran and its strong influence (read: money) on our politicians, our foreign policies reflect Israel’s perceived interests more than ours.Read the entire article

US Gov Is Using The NDAA To Indefinitely Detain Those Who Commit A “Belligerent Act"

Israel has ‘stranglehold’ on all US institutions: Ex-Senate candidate

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming address to Congress shows that Israel and its powerful lobby has a “stranglehold” on all institutions in the United States, says an analyst and former US Senate candidate.“The entire situation with the speech that is coming up is designed to show the world that Israel has a stranglehold on the American banking system, the American congressional system, the American news media, (and) the American national security establishment,” Mark Dankof said in an interview with Press TV on Monday.In January, US House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to Washington hours after President Barack Obama threatened to veto any sanctions legislation against Iran during his State of the Union address.The Israeli primer arrived in Washington Sunday night. He delivered a speech at the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobbying group on Monday.Netanyahu is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday to warn against an emerging nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1-- the US, Britain, France, China, Russia, and Germany.The congressional speech presents a “historic turning point” for the average American to begin to realize that “Israel has stolen this country blind, that it has no respect for our people and our institutions and that it expects this symbiotic, parasitic relationship to continue,” Dankof said. Read the entire article